|
Friday, February 27, 2004
Valedictory
Four years. In four years, you can complete high school, to which I paid very little attention. In four years you can graduate from college, which I did not, nor did I care to. In four years you can also build a life with someone you want to be with forever, which I have done, and I can certainly verify that I've put more effort into that than college and high school combined.
Rebecca and I celebrated four years together this week, and we did it quietly for the most part. Choosing to go out and celebrate tonight rather than on a weekday, we instead passed the time cuddling on the couch and watching me pass out on the loveseat at 9:30pm. From this, great romances are made, yes? But really, it was nice, as nice as any anniversary we've had, because it was calm and stress-free, which is sort of unusual for us.
We've been very lucky to get past some of the obstacles placed before us in the last four years, but at every turn, it seems like we've realized that it is worth the effort and the occasional troubles, if it means we get to be together. And isn't that what it's all about?
My friends Linda and Sally just celebrated their 17th anniversary together a few weeks ago. I have no idea how that feels for them, but I do know one thing: Rebecca and I really want to find out.
Marc@MarcMason.com
2:48 PM
(0) comments
Friday, February 20, 2004
Horror
This week I've been watching the scandal over the Colorado football program like a hawk. It seems like the bigger it grows, the more it distresses me.
I'm not an alum of CU. Never even visited the campus. And that's one of the primary reasons why I am concerned. You, too. Because any person of conscience should be eyeing these events with disgust and horror, wondering what can be done and how it can be stopped everywhere else.
Rape is not a crime to ever take lightly, and it does not deserve anything less than forceful response from the law and the community. Confronted with the allegation that one of his players was raped by another, the Colorado coach forgot to even pay lip service to being appalled. Instead, he derided female place kicker Katie Hnida as a "girl" and a "bad player." As if this excuses the crime! Supposedly, we have evolved past the point where we think that rape is "acceptable" in any form, let alone as a punishment....for not successfully putting the ball between the uprights.
But hey, if Coach Scumbag wants to set us back to a prior era, then let's run with it, shall we?
My McBurger didn't come plain, as asked? Everyone in line gets to tie the cook to the fryer and start pounding away. Tears could be special sauce, right? Cut me off at the stoplight? You get pulled over, bent through the window, we all nearby pedestrians get a turn. I'm sure the traffic backup won't mind the show. And hey, if you want me to play football for your school, and the girl you sent to show me around doesn't want to give me any ass? Well that ain't gonna fly. It's her fault for being there, right?
It's the cook's fault for screwing up, right? The driver's for cutting me off? So taking by force is justified, right?
What a load of horseshit. Coach Scumbag just doesn't get it.
Maybe you don't actually know someone who's been a victim. I do. The first girl I ever loved was victimized by a neighbor, and no one helped her or believed her. Instead, she got the blame. So hearing Katie Hnida's tale brought back a large, painful memory, and seeing Coach Scumbag turn around and intimate that her plight was brought on just because she was a girl and not a good football player... it made me want to vomit.
I want to believe that Barnett will finally get it, but he won't. The neanderthals never do. I hope and pray that someone puts a stop to the nonsense in Colorado, and at all the other schools across the nation that we aren't hearing about, but I find it hard to believe it will. And I wish to God that we'd evolve way past ever even having the idea to forcibly sexually assault anyone, ever, as a species. But I won't hold my breath on that either. It seems big and pointless to leave yourself open to even care.
So I ask for this instead: if we're going to de-volve, and if we are going to still have a segment of the population that believes that this crime is acceptable, and blaming the victim is the way to go, it's time to take it to the next level. If you lie to the American public, and you waste lives in a foreign nation on a personal war, and you send American jobs out of the country and call it a good thing for everyone... you get fucked up the ass by the entire Colorado football team. And you have no one to blame... but yourself.
Marc@MarcMason.com
8:57 PM
(0) comments
Friday, February 13, 2004
Not Tonight, I Have A Headache
Have spent the week battling a vicious cold. Damned near completely lost my voice. Definitely lost my energy and enthusiasm. So this week is a bust. Enjoy Hallmark Day tomorrow, though. If you can.
Marc@MarcMason.com
7:32 PM
(0) comments
Friday, February 06, 2004
Fear And Hate
I am a deep liberal. I believe so deeply in civil liberties that I'd risk my life for them. But yesterday's decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court allowing gay marriage was probably the exact worse thing that could happen. Not because I'm not in favor of gay marriage- I am hugely in favor of it. But it comes at the worst possible time I can imagine.
The Democrats have a front runner for their choice to try and beat Bush, a goal I think we're all behind. But he's also from Massachusetts. And that's a killer.
No one is better at playing the politics of fear and hate than the Bushies. No one. They frightened people of terrorists so badly that they stopped believing that it was acceptable to question the government's actions. And you can be goddamned sure that they'll seize on John Kerry's MA roots to stir up old ladies in Iowa who are scared to death of homosexuals.
It won't matter what Kerry's opinions are. Karl Rove and company will link Kerry and gay marriage like green eggs and ham. They'll go to Mississippi and convince every backwater hick missing all but three teeth that Kerry is going to send the married homos to live in their neighborhood and to destroy their church. It gives them a way to demonize Kerry by linking him to the Different, and people are terrified and hateful towards the Different.
Can you imagine if the gay couple was black? Oy.
So there will be a huge effort to destroy Kerry this way. The focus will be moved from Iraq, lies about WMDs, AWOL National Guard service, and the biggest deficits in history...in short, Bush and Rove will steer the conversation about our nation's future away from anything important.
Gives you a really bad feeling doesn't it? Because it's exactly how they work, and they're relentless. Ask Bill and Hilary Clinton. And pray for John Kerry. Pray for him hard. Because he's about to get fired upon by an enemy who won't rest until he is destroyed. God help us all.
Marc@MarcMason.com
6:49 PM
(0) comments
|
